Automatic lock slider for slide fasteners



May 22, 1951 1.. L. JONES AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1946 0 m T10 N V WL m 5 Z L AT TORNEYS y1951 L. JONES 2,554,252

AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed July 26, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FILES i I I fa l \\\\r INVENTOR. Lasfar L. JonesATTORNEYS Patented May 22, 1951 AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDEFASTENERS Lester L. Jones, Oradell, N. J assignor to Conmar ProductsCorporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July26, 1946, Serial No. 686,502

19 Claims. 1

A more particular object is to provide a better and more positiverelease of the locking tooth when the slider is moved by means of thepull. With the present invention the lock is fully released when theslider is moved in fastener-closing direction, thereby avoidingratcheting or movement of the locking tooth over the fastener elements,with consequent noise and wear. The lock is released when the slider ismoved in either fastener-closing or fastener-opening direction, andregardless of the angle at which the pull is operated, including evenunusual positions such as parallel to, or perpendicular to thestringers.

Still another object of theinvention is to apply the improvements to anautomatic locking slider of the general type disclosed in Patent No.2,360,437, issued October 17, 1944 to William Mikulas and the presentinventor, in which deflection of the stringers of the fastener acts asresilient means for tending normally to lock the slider. Such a slideravoids the need for metallic springs, and the complete automatic lockingslider is made up of only three rugged components, the slider body, thelocking member or latch, and the pull.

In some forms of the invention there disclosed, the pressure part of thelatch, that is, the part engaged by the flexed stringers, is spaced farfrom the locking tooth and the fulcrum. Such a slider functionssatisfactorily at any point along the stringers, but diificulty mayarise at the ends of the stringers, because of interference with topstops at the upper end, or interference with the pin of a fullyseparable bottom stop at the lower end. In other forms of the inventiondisclosed in said patent, there is a ratcheting action of the lockingtooth along the fastener elements when the slider is pulled infastener-closing direction. One object of the present invention is toovercome the foregoing difficulties and to provide a locking slider inwhich the pressure part is beneath the fulcrum and relatively near thelocking tooth, but in which the pull is held by a bail located above thefucrum, so that any force in fastener-closing direction tends topositively release the latch.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an automatic lockslider which is simple, compact, easy to assemble, inexpensive tomanufacture, improved in appearance, and in which 2 the fulcrum of thelatch is protectively housed within the slider body.

To accomplish the foregoing objects, and others which will hereinafterappear, my invention resides in the automatic lock elements and slidefastener elements, and their relation one to the other, as arehereinafter more particularly described in the following specification.The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section through a slider embodying features of myinvention, said section being taken approximately in the plane of theline Il of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the slider;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned end view of the same;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 1, but showing thelatch in open or released position;

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the top wing of the slider before the latch andpull are added;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch, drawn to enlarged scale;

Figs. '7, 8 and 9 show successive steps in the operation of assemblingthe latch with the top wing only of the slider;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section taken longitudinally of the slider, andexplanatory of a detail of the assembly;

Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the trunnion of the pressure parts of amodified lock member;

Fig. 12 is a vertical section through a slider,

1 taken approximately in the plane of the line drawing) |2l2 of Fig. 11;and

Fig. 13 is a similar section taken approximately in the plane of theline l3l3 of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, theslider comprises three main components, the slider body S, the lockingmember or latch L, and the handle or so-called pull P (only one end ofwhich is shown in the The slider cooperates with a pair of stringerswhich may be conventional in comprising beaded tapes withinterengageable fastener elements secured thereto. A small section ofstringer is shown in Figs. 1 and l, this comprising a tape l2 having abeaded edge It, and fastener elements [6.

The slider body S, as usual, comprises top and bottom wings I8 and 25]secured together at a neck portion or so-called diamond 22. The sideedges of the wings are flanged, as indicated at 24, to provide agenerally Y-shaped slider channel which receives the stringers andoperates to mesh the same when the slider is moved in 3 fastener-closingdirection, and to unmesh the same when the slider is moved infastener-opening direction.

The latch L (see Fig. 6) comprises a detent or looking tooth 26, afulcrum part 28, a pressure part 30 so related to the fulcrum part 28that the latch as a whole functions as an angle lever, and a bail part32 which carries the pull. In the preferred construction shown, thelatch has a pair of transverse members 34 projecting on opposite sides.These are like trunnions, except that they are vertically flattened. Theupper edges of the trunnions 34 act as the fulcrum parts 23, and thelower edges of the trunnions 34 act as the pressure parts 30. A web 36of reduced thickness is preferably left beneath the bail 32, but it willbe understood that if desired, a passage or slot for the pull may extendclear through the latch beneath the bail part 32. The latch is completedby motion-limiting stops 38 and 40 which help locate the latch in properposition when it is assembled in the slider body.

Reverting to Figs. 1,2 and 3, the pull P may be conventional, it havinga handle part 42 (most of which is omitted in the drawing), and spacedarms 44 (Fig. 2) which straddle the latch L and which are provided attheir ends with inwardly projecting studs 46 received beneath the bailpart 32 on opposite sides of the web 36.

Referring now to Fig. of the drawing, the

the upper edges of the trunnions 34 of the latch.

The bottom wing 20 of the slider body is recessed opposite (beneath) thetrunnions 34, to afford deflection of the stringers in cooperation withthe pressure parts 30. This will be evident in Figs. 1 through 4, whichshow the depression or concavity 54 beneath the trunnions 34.

The operation of the slider will be clear from inspection of Fig. 4. Ifthe slider is pulled in fastener-opening direction (to the right in Fig.

4) with the pull in its usual angular position, shown in solid lines atP, the latch is released and the tooth 26 moved to the upward positionshown. This is so because of the upward component of force applied bythe pull. The motion of the latch is limited by the stop 38, which bearsagainst the top of the slider. If the slider is moved infastener-closing direction (to the left in Fig. 4) with the pull in itsusual position, shown in broken lines at P, the latch is turnedcounterclockwise about the fulcrum 28, thus lifting the tooth 26 clearof the stringers, the motion again being limited by the stop 38. Thisresult follows from the fact that the bail 32 holds the pull P at apoint higher than the fulcrum 28. Thus the slider is moved in eitherdirection without the noise and friction which arise when the lockingtooth is permitted to ratchet or chatter along the fastener elements.

The latch will be released even if the slider is moved in an abnormal orunusual manner. For example, if the slider is moved in fastener-closingdirection with the pull parallel to the stringers, that is, horizontalas viewed in Fig. 4, the latch will be turned counterclockwise exactlyas shown. If the slider is moved in fastener-opening direction, with thepull parallel to the stringers, that is, horizontal as viewed in Fig. 4,there is no outward component of force to release the latch, but thesloping shape of the bail 32 causes the pull to cam the latch incounterclockwise direction. It is partially for this reason, andpartially to take advantage of any outward component of force with theusual angular position of the pull, that the bail is sloped as shown.This slope in the present example approximately parallels a lineextending from the fulcrum 28 to the locking tooth 26. r

If the slider is moved while holding the pull perpendicularly to theslider (i. e., in vertical position as viewed in the drawing), the pullwill move toward either end of the bail, and thereupon will function torelease the latch exactly as previously described.

The automatic locking action is based broadly on the principles alreadyset forth in the Patent No. 2,360,437 previously referred to. In Figs. 1and 4, it will be seen that the stringers of the fastener are bent orflexed downwardly somewhat between the lower edges or pressure parts ofthe trunnions 34 and the recess or concavity 54. This causes africtional engagement with the pressure parts, and on any attemptedopening of the fastener (which corresponds to a leftward movement fo thestringers through the slider), the latch acts as an angle lever which isturned in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum 28, thereby moving thetooth 26 into locking position if it was not already there, or holdingit there if it was. The 'stop 4!) limits the locking movement.

The method of assembly of the parts of the slider will be clear frominspection of Figs. '7, 8 and 9. The latch L is inserted upwardlythrough the slot 59 in the upper wing [8 of the slider before the upperand lower wings are joined. The latch is turned through the successivepositions shown in Figs. 7 and S, and is then slid to the right tolocate the stop 40 over the slider wing. In Fig. 9 this movement to theright has been started. The left walls of the open bearings 52 are thenpressed toward the right, as shown at 53 in Fig. 10. This holds thelatch to the right, with the stop 40 (Fig. 9) over the slider body. Italso provides a narrowed and therefore a substantially fixed fulcrumseat for the top edge of the trunnion. The bottom wing. is then added,following Which the pull is applied to the bail by squeezing the arms 44(Fig. 2) from an initial outwardly spread relation (not shown) to theparallel relation shown.

In the particular slider here shown, the top and bottom wings are joinedtogether by welding at the neck 22. This is a convenient method when thewings are coined out of sheet stock. However, it will be understood thatother ways of forming the slider body may be employed, as, for example,riveting; and that the wings may be made in other ways, as for example,by die-casting. The latch L may be coined or die-cast. The pull P ispreferably stamped out of heavy-gauge sheet stock, but this too may, ifdesired, be diccast.

If desired, the pressure'parts of the latch may be modified slightly inconfiguration. Such a modification is illustrated in Figs. 11, 12 and 13of the drawing. Referring to Figs. 11 and 12, the. pressure part I'D onone side of the longitudinal axis of the slider has its lowermostsurface at T2, and referring to Figs. 11 and 13, the

pressure part 14 on the other side of the longitudinal axis has itslowermost surface at '16.

Thus the lowermost surfaces 12 and 16 on the two sides of thelongitudinal axis are offset or staggered relative to one another in thedirection of the longitudinal axis. A very simple way to produce thiseffect is to slope the part iii in one fastener elements attempt to movefrom right to left, as viewed in the drawing) an element or scoop 80 onone stringer bears against the part "l2 and tends to move the latch tolocking position, whereupon the next element or scoop 32 on the otherstringer bears against the lowermost part '16 and assures completion ofthe locking operation.

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as theadvantages of my improved automatic locking slider, will be apparentfrom the foregoing detailed description thereof. The latch is positivelyreleased when the slider is moved by means of the pull, and regardlessof the angle at which the pull is held while moving the slider. There isno sliding or ratcheting of the tooth along the fastener elements. Theslider has only three main components, and does not require the use oftiny, delicate springs. (However, some features such as the enclosedhousing of the trunnions within the slider body, may be used connectionwith resilient means other than the flexed stringers here illustrated.)The latch functions as an angle lever with the pressure part beneath thefulcrum, instead of widely spaced therefrom, hence there is nointerference with top stops, even disappearing top steps. Moreover,there is little movement into the slider channel (compared to theoperation when the pressure part is spaced a substantial distance alongthe slider from the fulcrum), hence there is no interference with thepin of a fully separable fastener. The latch member is compact andsturdy. The parts are readily assembled.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure disclosed,without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought to bedefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A locking slider for a slide fastener, said slider comprising aslider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body including top andbottom wings, said latch comprising trunnions acting as a fulcrum, alocking tooth displaced longitudinally of the slider from the trunnions,and a bail part for carrying the pull and located above the trunnionsand the locking tooth, said top wing having a slot for receiving a partof the latch and having a pair of open bearings formed upwardly onopposite sides of the slot against which the aforesaid trunnions areupwardly seated to provide a fulcrum for the latch.

2. A locking slider for a slide fastener, said slider comprising aslider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body including top andbottom wings joined by a neck to form a Y-shaped channel for receivingthe stringers of the slide fastener, said latch comprising trunnionsacting as a fulcrum, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally of theslider from the trunnions, and a bail part for carrying the pull andlocated above the trunnions and the locking tooth, said top wing havinga slot extending longitudinally thereof for receiving the bail part ofthe latch and having a pair of approximately semi-cylindrical bearingsformed upwardly on opposite sides of the slot against which theaforesaid trunnions are upwardly seated to provide a fulcrum for thelatch.

3. A locking slider for a slide fastener, said slider comprising aslider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body including top andbottom wings, said latch comprising trunnions acting as a fulcrum, alocking tooth displaced longitudinally of the slider from the trunnions,a bail part for carrying the pull and located above the trunnions andthe locking tooth, and motion limiting stops at its ends, said top winghaving a slot extending longitudinally thereof for receiving the bailpart of the latch with the aforesaid stops extending beyond the ends ofthe slot above the wing, and having a pair of open bearings formedupwardly on opposite sides of the slot against which the aforesaidtrunnions are upwardly seated.

4. An automatic locking slider as defined in claim 1, in which the bailpart slopes in a direction generally parallel to a line extendingbetween the fulcrum part and the locking tooth.

5. An automatic locking slider for a slide fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body includingtop and bottom wings, said latch comprising a fulcrum part, a pressurepart to be engaged by the stringers of the slide fastener and locatedgenerally beneath the fulcrum part, a locking tooth displacedlongitudinally of the slider from the aforesaid parts, and a bail partfor carrying the pull and located higher than the fulcrum part and thelocking tooth, said latch having a pair of projections extendingtransversely thereof, the top edges of said projections acting as thefulcrum parts of the latch and the bottom edges of said projectionsacting as the pressure parts of the latch, said top wing having a slotfor receiving a part of the latch and having a pair of open bearingsformed upwardly on opposite sides of the slot against which theaforesaid fulcrum parts are upwardly seated.

6. An automatic locking slider for a slide fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body includingtop and bottom wings, said latch comprising a fulcrum part, a pressurepart to be engaged by the stringers of the slide fastener and locatedgenerally beneath the fulcrum part, a locking tooth displacedlongitudinally of the slider from the aforesaid parts, and a bail partfor carrying the pull and located higher than the fulcrum part and thelocking tooth, said bottom wing being recessed opposite the pressurepart or the latch for deflection of the stringer, said latch having apair of projections extending transversely thereof, the top edges ofsaid projections acting as the fulcrum parts of the latch and the bottomedges of said projections acting as the pressure parts of the latch,said top Wing having a slot for receiving a part of the latch and havinga pair of open bearings formed upwardly on op- Y posite sides of theslot against which the aforesaid fulcrum parts are upwardly seated.

'7. An automatic locking slider for a slide fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, a

7 the slide fastener, said latch comprising a fulcrum part, a pressurepart to be engaged by the stringers and located generally beneath thefulcrum part, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally of the sliderfrom the aforesaid parts, and a bail part for carrying the pull andlocated above the fulcrum part and the locking tooth, whereby a forceapplied by the pull in fastener-closing direction releases the latch andavOidS ratcheting of the tooth on the stringer elements, said bottomwing being recessed opposite the pressure part of the latch fordeflection of the stringer, said latch having a pair of trunnion-likeprojections extending transversely thereof, the top edges of saidprojections acting as the fulcrum parts of the latch and the bottomedges of said proj ections acting as the pressure parts of the latch,said top wing having a slot extending longitudinally thereof forreceiving the bail part of the latchand having a pair of approximatelysemicylindrical bearings formed upwardly on opposite sides of the slotagainst which the aforesaid trunnions are upwardly seated.

8. An automatic locking slider for a slide .fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, alatch, and a pull, the slider body includingtop and bottom wings, said latch comprising a fulcrum part, a pressurepart to be engaged by the strin ers and located generally beneath thefulcrum part, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally of the sliderfrom the aforesaid parts, a bail part for carrying the pull. and locatedabove the fulcrum part and the locking tooth, wherebyaforce applied bythe pull in fastener-closing direction releases the latch .and avoidsratcheting ofthe tooth on the stringer elements, and motion limit.- ingstops at its ends, said bottom wing being recessed opposite the pressurepart, of the latch for deflection of the stringer,.said latch having apair of projections extending transversely thereof, the top edges ofsaid projections acting asthe fulcrum parts of the latch and the bottomedges of said projections acting as the pressure parts of the latch,said top wing having a slot extending longitudinally thereof forreceiving the loailpart of the latch .with .the aforesaid stopsextending.beyond the ends of the slot above the, wing and having a pairof openbearings formed upwardly onopposite sides of the slot. against which the.aforesaid fulcrum parts are upwardly seated.

9.v An automatic locking slider as defined .in

claim 5, in which thebail part slopes in a direction generally parallelto a line extendingbe- .tween the fulcrum part and the locking tooth.

10. An automatic locking slider as defined in claim 5, in which thepressure part of the latch on one side of the longitudinal axis of thesliderhas its lowermost surface offset or staggered lengthwise of theslider relative to the lowermost surface of the pressure part on theother side of the longitudinal axis of the latch.

11. An automatic locking slider as defined in claim 6, in which thepressure part of the latch on one side of the longitudinal axis of theslider slopes in one direction, and the pressure part, on the other sideof thelongitudinal axis slopes in the other direction, whereby thelowermostsurfaces of the pressure parts on the two sides of thelongitudinal axis arestaggered or offset relative to one another in thedirection of they longitudinal axis.

12. Au automatic locking slider for a slidefastener, said slidercomprising, a. slider body, a latch,

,and a pull, the. sliderv body includin topiand. bottom wings, saidlatch comprising a fulcrum part located above the main upper surface ofthe top wing, a pressure part to be engaged by the stringers of theslide fastener and located generally beneath the fulcrum part, a lockingtooth displaced longitudinally of the slider from the aforesaidparts,and a bail part for carrying the pull and locatedhigher than the fulcrumpart and'the locking tooth, said ball part being so shaped as to act asa cam sloping downwardly in the same general direction as a lineextending between the fulcrum and the tooth, said cam operating torelease the latch if the slider is moved in fasteneropening direction bypulling the pull parallel to the stringers.

13. An automatic looking slider for a slide fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body includingtop and bottom wings joined by a neck to form a Y-shaped channel forreceiving the stringers of the slide fastener, said latch comprising afulcrum part located above the main upper surface of the top wing, apressure part to be engaged by the stringers and located generallybeneath the fulcrum part, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally ofthe slider from the aforesaid parts, and a bail part for carrying thepull and located above the fulcrum part and the locking tooth, whereby aforce applied by the pull in fastener-closing direction releases thelatch and avoids ratcheting cf the tooth on the stringer elements, saidbottom wing being recessed opposite the pressure part'of the latch fordeflection of the stringers, said bail part being so shaped as to act asa cam sloping downwardly in the same general direction as a lineextending between the fulcrum and the tooth, said cam operating torelease the latch if the slider is moved in fastener-opening directionby pulling the pull parallel to the stringers.

1%. An automatic locking slider as defined in claim 1, in which the bailpart is so shaped as to act as a cam sloping downwardly in the samegeneral direction as a line' extending between the fulcrum and thetooth, said cam operating to release the latch if the slider is moved infastener-opening direction by pulling the pull parallel to thestringers.

15. An automatic locking slider as defined in claim 3, in which the bailpart is so shaped as to act as a cam sloping downwardly in' the samegeneral direction as line extending between the fulcrum and the tooth,said cam operating to release the latch if the slider is moved infasteneropening direction by pulling the pull parallel to the stringers.

l6. An'automatic. locking slider as defined in clairnr5, in, which thebail part is so shaped as to act, as a camsloping downwardly in the samegeneraldirection as a line extending between the fulcrum and the tooth,said cam operating to lease thelatch if the slider is moved in fastener-1 opening direction by pulling the pull parallel to fastener, lsaidslider comprising a sliderbodya the stringers.

18. A n automatic locking slider for a slide latchpandga pulLfthesliderbody iin'cluding top nd; bottom sai la h minorities a i crum partlocated above the main upper surface of the top wing, a pressure part tobe engaged by the stringers of the slide fastener and located generallybeneath the fulcrum part, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally ofthe slider from the aforesaid parts, and a bail part for carrying thepull and located higher than the fulcrum part and the locking tooth, thepressure part of the latch on one side of the longitudinal axis of theslider having its lowermost surfac offset or staggered lengthwise of theslider relative to the lowermost surface of the pressure part on theother sid of the longitudinal axis of the latch.

19. An automatic locking slider for a slide fastener, said slidercomprising a slider body, a latch, and a pull, the slider body includingtop and bottom wings joined by a neck to form a Y- shaped channel forreceiving the stringers of the slide fastener, said latch comprising afulcrum part located above the main upper surface of the top wing, apressure part to be engaged by the stringers and located generallybeneath the fulcrum part, a locking tooth displaced longitudinally ofthe slider from the aforesaid parts, and a bail part for carrying thepull and located above the fulcrum part and the locking tooth,

whereby a force applied by the pull in fastenerclosing directionreleases the latch and avoids ratcheting of the tooth on the stringerelements, said bottom wing being recessed opposite the pressure part ofthe latch for deflection of the stringers, the pressure part of thelatch on one side of the longitudinal axis of the slider sloping in onedirection, and the pressure part on the other side of the longitudinalaxis sloping in the other direction, whereby the lowermost surfaces ofthe pressure parts on the two sides of the longitudinal axis arestaggered or offset relative to one another in the direction of thelongitudinal axis.

LESTER L. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,053,463 Conlin Sept. 8, 19362,360,43 Mikulas et a1 Oct. 17, 1944

